*Rosetta’s suicide death plunge about to begin
After a mission lasting more than 12 and a half years -- the European Space Agency’s Rosetta probe is now on its final orbital trajectory which will send it on a suicide death plunge onto the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on September 30.

*Pluto’s heart shedding light on a possible buried ocean
A giant asteroid impact on the distant frozen world of Pluto -- deep in its past -- is offering new insights into the possibility of an ocean beneath the dwarf planet’s icy surface.

*New study of photon radiation impacts on Earth
A new study combining multiple telescopes at different wavelengths has successfully made the most precise measurements ever undertaken of the total amount of radiation hitting the Earth -- finding that the planet is bombarded by about sextillion photons per square metre -- every second.

*New Zealand space program leaves Australia for dead
While Australian politicians on both sides of the political fence have a long and sad history of showing their lack of vision and foresight when it comes to a local space program. Across the dich New Zealand not only has a space agency -- but is now developing a satellite launch capability.

Enhanced Show Notes (including photos to accompany this episode) can be found at http://www.bitesz.com/spacetime-show-notes